Samantha Sherer (and a village)
Codey, Preshah, Auggie & Ardie
Ceramic 3D Printing System, 2018*
This 3D printing system includes a direct deposition paste printer, (Codey) controlled by an SD card reader on an Arduino board, (Ardie) as well as a pneumatic extruder (Preshah) which feeds clay paste through polyurethane tubing and a print head auger, (Augie) to regulate the flow of paste through the extrusion nozzle. It was created using open source files and “Do-It-Together” networks and could be used to extrude any kind of paste formula, from chocolate to cement, giving it much broader applications than increasing a potter’s set of tools.
Bryan Czibesz version-Jonathan Keep’s Delta 3D PrinterCodey is an open source 3D printer that can extrude any kind of paste, from chocolate to concrete. Samantha has been using it to print ceramic objects. This printer is a variant of thingiverse thing 977275
I believe that 3D printing will make Global Manufacturing obsolete potentially reducing carbon & water footprints. Inspired by the Maker Movement’s open source culture and its capacity to redistribute manufacturing, I explored the Delta 3D printer’s accessibility as an appropriate technology for the Global North and South. As a digital immigrant, I amassed hardware and 3D printed inscrutable plastic and wooden parts.
I humbly acknowledge all the patient and enthusiastic support I was given by the many talented and knowledgeable Studio professors and studio technicians at OCADU. Greg, Robin, Greg, John, Joel, Tom, Josh, Darryl. You are the unsung heroes of OCADU. Finally, most especially to Gerald my patient IT technician, support and guide. Thank you!
Samantha Sherer
Vessels, 2018
Cone 6 Clay and Glazes
Preliminary test vessels intended to explore the range of capability of the Delta Ceramic 3D printer. Most of the vessels were designed by Sam in Rhino. Some vessels were altered from thingiverse files 492240 or 2638924
Samantha Sherer
Jewellery, 2017
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Bottles and Packaging,
Found Objects, Beach Glass, E-Waste, Electrical Wire, Permanent Marker
The plastic used in bottles and other food packaging is in a stretched state and applying heat causes it to shrink. I used an electric toaster oven to shape and shrink the plastic and used candles to simulate low-tech situations. Using permanent markers, to decorat segments of plastic before heating them cured the patterns and altered their shape. Once shrunken, the plastic curled and thickened causing surface designs to appear delicate and precise. I was intent on designing high quality unique practical souvenirs (other than jewellery) that could bear vernacular design and be sold in artisan markets in the Global South but the jewel-toned plastic lent itself very well to jewellery and decorative objects and almost not at all to utilitarian products.
I bent to the will of the material and reworked my design brief to include wearables that required low skill levels to produce and utilized only waste or found objects in lieu of commercial jewellery findings.
Samantha Sherer
Yoga Mat Straps 2017
Polyethylene bags, Safety-Seal Plastic Bottle Caps
Plarn: A yarn-like material produced from grocery bags that have been sliced into strips and looped together and spun by hand to form long strands. Plarn can be used by several social enterprises to fashion plastic textiles, upholstery, baskets, shoes, mats and other utilitarian or decorative objects. I experimented with hoop-knitting, weaving, crocheting, knotting and finger-knitting.
I explored Up-cycling post-consumer plastics because they are readily available, free materials that pose significant environmental issues when not discarded with care.
Inspired by over 15 years of volunteer development work with street involved youth in Asia and Central America, my goal was to design a simple, useful, inexpensive product that could be created by waste-pickers or unskilled labourers with no prior skills or access to tools. These Water Bottle or Yoga Mat straps can be fabricated using only a knife and discarded plastic bags utilizing makeshift hoop knitting tools or a simple finger-knitting technique.
Inspired by farming practices I’d recently witnessed while consulting in Honduras, I simulated basic paper production facilities in my studio. I was exploring the possibilities of substituting virgin wood from trees with Up-cycled crop residue, in order to manufacture paper products.
I collected pineapple crowns from a grocer to simulate the ubiquitous heaps of agricultural waste in rural areas. Since cities produce garbage too, I also collected urban organic waste including cuttings from a florist shop and juice pulp from a juice bar.
I experimented with several low-tech papermaking methods including beating the pulp by hand, grinding it in a kitchen blender or pulverizing it in an artisan paper beater. The pulverized juice bar waste was ideal papermaking pulp.
I pulled sheets of paper of varying quality or used the pulp to cast three-dimensional objects for a range of uses including biodegradable packaging or insulation, card stock, lamp shades and baskets.
Samantha Sherer
Handmade Paper, 2017
Organic waste: Pineapple Crowns, Floral Waste, Juice Bar Pulp
An assortment of analog pottery from 1994-2000
Jewellery, 1994-2015
